Sam Altman returns to OpenAI: What the players, stakeholders and journalists are saying about it

Five days after an attempted boardroom coup, Sam Altman is returning as CEO of OpenAI. 

OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, said in a statement early Wednesday morning that it has an “agreement in principle” for Altman to return with a new initial board. Former president Greg Brockman is also coming back to the organization. 

“We are collaborating to figure out the details,” OpenAI added. 

The new board will be composed of Bret Taylor, who will serve as chair; Larry Summers, the former Treasury secretary; and Adam D’Angelo, the only member of OpenAI’s previous board to remain. Altman won’t be on the initial board. 

Altman has also agreed to an internal investigation into why he was fired by the board, according to The Information.

Here’s what key parties, investors and tech journalists are saying about Altman’s chaotic departure from and return to OpenAI.

Key parties

Sam Altman

i love openai, and everything i’ve done over the past few days has been in service of keeping this team and its mission together. when i decided to join msft on sun evening, it was clear that was the best path for me and the team. with the new board and w satya’s support, i’m…

— Sam Altman (@sama) November 22, 2023

Greg Brockman

we are so back pic.twitter.com/YcKwkqdNs5

— Greg Brockman (@gdb) November 22, 2023

OpenAI

OpenAI is nothing without its people https://t.co/XYKLQ61e6l

— OpenAI (@OpenAI) November 22, 2023

Siqi Chen, board of directors at Sandbox VR

pretty wild that the first job openai took was sam's

— Siqi Chen (@blader) November 17, 2023

Peter Lee, corporate VP, Microsoft Research

Sure it would have been fun having Sam, Greg, and so many others as new Microsoft colleagues. But man, this is a such wonderful outcome for all of us at OpenAI and Microsoft, and for everyone else who cares about the future of AI for all. https://t.co/Q7qOq6hzpJ

— Peter Lee (@peteratmsr) November 22, 2023

Journalists

Emily Chang, Bloomberg

There are still big questions about why this happened, how much was due to petty personal issues/egos vs fundamental disagreements about the future of AI.

It’s only humanity at stake. So let’s hope they figure it out. ��

— Emily Chang (@emilychangtv) November 22, 2023

Alex Heath, The Verge

Story on Sam Altman returning to lead OpenAI, with @reckless:

We’re told that both sides have agreed to an investigation — presumably by an outside, independent law firm — into this whole saga, which seems to be deeply rooted in a very human power struggle. Based on our…

— Alex Heath (@alexeheath) November 22, 2023

Amir Efrati, The Information

also- many blessings to the executives, managers and lawyers who waited until just AFTER kids' normal bedtime to make big news https://t.co/LCjGubTBtd

— Amir Efrati (@amir) November 22, 2023

And, because it’s the one detail I know you all most want to know.

I made it to bag 9 of 10 in my Lego build of The Office before @sama @satya @btaylor @adamdangelo ironed it all out. pic.twitter.com/viVuJ7saHZ

— Ina Fried (@inafried) November 22, 2023

Mike Bird, The Economist 

The last week in OpenAI history pic.twitter.com/EPnTsezUxZ

— Mike Bird (@Birdyword) November 22, 2023

(This article has been updated for relevancy purposes. It first appeared on PRWeek)